Explora BioLabs Opens Its First East Coast Facility in Boston

Jul 08, 2021

Turnkey, spacious facility opened its doors to local biotechs June 15

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WATERTOWN, Mass.—Explora BioLabs, the nation’s largest provider of preclinical vivarium research space, opened its first East Coast facility in Boston on June 15.  This is the 12th facility to open in Explora’s nationwide vivarium network, with four (4) more facilities scheduled to open by the end of 2021 and already two (2) scheduled to open in early 2022.

The new Explora BioLabs facility provides the Boston biotech sector with a robust offering including turnkey, fully managed contract vivaria and support services, onsite contract research services, onsite animal quarantine, and more. Clients can get their research started in as little as two weeks supported by Explora’s husbandry, regulatory, and Ph.D.-backed technical staff.  This facility offers the largest vivarium and procedure rooms in the market with options for shared, private, and suite rooms.

“The early and mid-stage biotech company faces enormous challenges to discover, identify targets, test safety, and prove efficacy,” said Sandy Paige, Explora BioLabs’ CEO. “Developing a new drug is hard enough. There is no need to also worry about building and running an expensive vivarium and manage complex regulatory components. The smartest biotechs are co-locating within reach of our network of facilities to accomplish their work faster, flexibly, efficiently, and in a more repeatable manner.”

The Boston space allows researchers to focus on their studies while Explora handles all of the in vivo management, logistics, and compliance requirements. Explora’s facilities feature state-of-the-art operations and equipment, such as an onsite IVIS Lumina III imager and a dedicated cell culture room, and are validated through AAALAC accreditation, NIH/OLAW assurance, and best-in-class health monitoring.

“We jump-started our preclinical research program by stepping right into pre-built, pre-staffed, regulatory-compliant vivarium space,” said Ivana Djuretic, a co-founder at Asher Biotherapeutics and a user of Explora BioLabs’ facilities. “Developing a fully compliant vivarium would have taken us anywhere from six to eight months. We were able to start with Explora within two weeks. And when we need more space, they’ll be there for us.”

Explora’s nationwide network of 18 facilities and growing is designed for biotechnology companies that are not yet ready for investment in their own facilities, as well as those that have outgrown their current research space. Explora has been driving the contract vivarium industry growth and innovation for the past 17 years helping researchers initiate in vivo studies quickly with the support they need to stay focused on the science. Explora’s vivarium design allows clients to easily introduce additional instrumentation and personnel in order to maximize the number of programs and get good data more quickly.

“We are thrilled to welcome Explora BioLabs to the greater Boston area,” said Robert K. Coughlin, former president and CEO of MassBio. “Explora’s turnkey, state-of-the-art vivarium and CRO services will support Massachusetts’s biotech community with the infrastructure it needs to meet today’s demanding drug development milestones. It’s MassBio members like Explora that help make Massachusetts the number one life sciences cluster in the world.”

“We will be opening additional vivarium facilities in the Boston area in the coming 2-3 years,” said Paige. “We’re already well-known as the national leader in other biotech hubs, including San Diego and San Francisco, for both contract vivaria and experienced management services to private vivaria. Our new Watertown facility, paired with our recent acquisition of Novalex Biotech Resources, positions us aggressively to service a wide range of in vivo preclinical needs for Boston-based biotechs.”

About Explora BioLabs

Explora BioLabs provides Ph.D.-backed Vivarium-as-a-ServiceTM solutions for preclinical vivaria, compliance, husbandry, and research services for over 100 clients through a network of facilities in San Francisco, San Diego, and Boston. Explora manages dozens of additional facilities for OnSite clients who have their own existing vivarium but prefer the ease of utilizing Explora’s expertise in vivarium management and regulatory oversight. Explora’s preclinical CRO team in each biotech market hub also services the study design and execution needs of clients who choose to outsource preclinical work in oncology, metabolism, toxicology, pain, and a variety of other common therapeutic areas.

For more information, visit explorabiolabs.com.

Media Contact:

Krystina Feucht, Marketing Manager
Explora BioLabs
858-768-2100
kfeucht@explorabiolabs.com

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